All Souls Unitarian Church (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Encyclopedia
All Souls Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist
("UU") church in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. It is one of the largest UU congregations in the world.
All Souls Unitarian Church was founded in 1921 by two leading Tulsans from families with Unitarian roots: Richard Lloyd Jones, the publisher of the Tulsa Tribune
daily newspaper, whose father
had founded All Souls Church in Chicago
; and William Rea (W. R.) Holway
, an engineer who was instrumental in the development of Tulsa's water resources.
, and a movie theater before erecting their own building at 14th and Boulder in 1930.
After 25 years, the church moved to its current home at 2952 South Peoria, adjacent to the historic Maple Ridge
district. This building was designed by Tulsa architect John Duncan Forsyth
, who also designed the E. W. Marland Mansion
in Ponca City
, Southern Hills Country Club
, and Pensacola Dam
at Grand Lake o' the Cherokees
, the last of which also involved All Souls co-founder W. R. Holway as chief engineer.
Some of Wolf's notable causes included his efforts to reform the funeral industry; his leadership of protests against the administration of the Tulsa Public Schools
; a controversial sermon entitled "Tulsa is a Hick Town" that was credited with leading to the construction of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center
; his consistent pro-choice
activism; and his frequent criticisms of Tulsa's most famous evangelist
leader, Oral Roberts
.
In 1974 All Souls began a broadcast ministry, initially known as Univision, that included a multipart series hosted by Wolf called "Faith in the Free Church."
's controversial (and short-lived) 2005 decision to include a creationism
exhibit. Lavanhar presided over the 2004 memorial service for Fern Holland
, a Tulsa lawyer and human rights activist who was the first U.S. civilian to be killed in the Iraq War. In February 2010 he travelled to Uganda
to speak in opposition to the proposed Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill
. All Souls has also been noted for its efforts to re-examine the 1921 Tulsa race riot
, including the controversial role of the church's co-founder and Tribune publisher Richard Lloyd Jones.
In 2008 the church absorbed the congregation of Carlton Pearson
, a prominent evangelist, former protege of Oral Roberts, and bishop
of the Church of God in Christ
, who was declared a heretic by a group of Pentecostal
bishops for preaching his "Gospel of Inclusion" that salvation is afforded to all persons including non-Christians.
The merger received attention for its efforts to combine All Souls' staid traditional Unitarian worship style with the livelier, predominantly African-American Pentecostal
style of Pearson's followers.
One historian of the UU movement has described All Souls Unitarian Church as a "prominent" example of a small group of urban UU churches that became "powerful voices of liberal religion in their communities and in the nation."
district. In the early 2000s, All Souls Unitarian dropped some inactive members from its rolls, and for a time it was supplanted in the top spot by Unitarian Church of All Souls
in New York City
and then by the First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin.
However, the Unitarian Universalist Association
certified membership statistics show that as of January 28, 2011, All Souls Unitarian had 1,900 members, giving it the largest membership of any single-church UU congregation. The only larger congregations are the Church of the Larger Fellowship
, an outreach ministry, and the 25 combined churches of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines. According to the same statistics, All Souls Unitarian was second in average weekly attendance, behind First Unitarian Church of Portland, Oregon
.
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
("UU") church in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. It is one of the largest UU congregations in the world.
All Souls Unitarian Church was founded in 1921 by two leading Tulsans from families with Unitarian roots: Richard Lloyd Jones, the publisher of the Tulsa Tribune
Tulsa Tribune
The Tulsa Tribune was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1919 to 1992. Owned and run by three generations of the Jones family, the Tribune closed in 1992 after the termination of its joint operating agreement with the morning Tulsa World.-Antecedents:In 1895, a group of...
daily newspaper, whose father
Jenkin Lloyd Jones (minister)
Jenkin Lloyd Jones was a Unitarian minister in the United States. He founded All Souls Unitarian Church in Chicago, Illinois, as well as its community outreach organization, the Abraham Lincoln Centre. A radical modernist, he joined the "Unity Men" and stressed a creedless "ethical basis" as the...
had founded All Souls Church in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
; and William Rea (W. R.) Holway
W. R. Holway
William Rea Holway , commonly known as W. R. Holway, was an American civil engineer who became prominent in Oklahoma. He is best known for his work on major water supply projects for the city of Tulsa, and on the Pensacola Dam at Grand Lake o' the Cherokees.Holway came to Tulsa in 1918, where he...
, an engineer who was instrumental in the development of Tulsa's water resources.
Early years
The church began when Richard Lloyd Jones ran an advertisement in the Tribune seeking people interested in starting a "liberal church." The group met at Tulsa's City Hall, Jones's house, Temple IsraelTemple Israel (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 2004 East 22nd Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1914, the synagogue affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism in 1915, and constructed its first building on South Cheyenne Street in 1919...
, and a movie theater before erecting their own building at 14th and Boulder in 1930.
After 25 years, the church moved to its current home at 2952 South Peoria, adjacent to the historic Maple Ridge
Maple Ridge (Tulsa)
Maple Ridge is a historic district in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is bounded by the Inner Dispersal Loop on the north, Hazel Boulevard on the south, Peoria Avenue on the east and the Midland Valley Railroad right of way on the west...
district. This building was designed by Tulsa architect John Duncan Forsyth
John Duncan Forsyth
John Duncan Forsyth was a Scottish-American architect who became prominent in Oklahoma. Based in Tulsa and working in a variety of styles, he was connected with a number of significant buildings around the state.-Biography:...
, who also designed the E. W. Marland Mansion
E. W. Marland Mansion
E. W. Marland Mansion, or Ernest Whitworth Marland Mansion or Marland Estate, in Ponca City, Oklahoma is a Mediterranean Revival style mansion significant for its architecture. The home was built by Oklahoma governor and oilman E. W...
in Ponca City
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...
, Southern Hills Country Club
Southern Hills Country Club
Southern Hills Country Club is a private golf and country club in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the United States. It was established in 1936 from land donated by multimillionaire oilman Waite Phillips. The construction costs were raised by the founding members....
, and Pensacola Dam
Pensacola Dam
The Pensacola Dam, also known as the Grand River Dam, is a multiple-arch buttress dam on the Grand River in-between Disney and Langley in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The dam is operated by the Grand River Dam Authority and creates Grand Lake o' the Cherokees...
at Grand Lake o' the Cherokees
Grand Lake o' the Cherokees
Grand Lake o' the Cherokees is situated in Northeast Oklahoma, nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountain Range. The "o'" in the name of the lake stands for of not over. Grand Lake Of the Cherokees is the official name. It is often simply called Grand Lake...
, the last of which also involved All Souls co-founder W. R. Holway as chief engineer.
Ministry of John Wolf
In 1960, John Wolf became senior minister. He became prominent as a liberal activist in Tulsa's predominantly conservative politics, and his church grew to become the largest Unitarian congregation in the world.Some of Wolf's notable causes included his efforts to reform the funeral industry; his leadership of protests against the administration of the Tulsa Public Schools
Tulsa Public Schools
Tulsa Public Schools is an independent school district serving the Tulsa, Oklahoma area in Northeastern Oklahoma. It is the 2nd largest school district in Oklahoma. As of 2010 the district serves approximately 41,224 students, up slightly from 41,200 students from Kindergarten through Twelfth grade...
; a controversial sermon entitled "Tulsa is a Hick Town" that was credited with leading to the construction of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center
Tulsa Performing Arts Center
The Tulsa Performing Arts Center is a performing arts venue in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It houses four theaters, including the 2,365-seat Chapman Music Hall. The building occupies half a city block in downtown Tulsa. The center hosts regular performances by the Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Ballet, and...
; his consistent pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
activism; and his frequent criticisms of Tulsa's most famous evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
leader, Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts
Granville "Oral" Roberts was an American Pentecostal televangelist and a Christian charismatic. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University....
.
In 1974 All Souls began a broadcast ministry, initially known as Univision, that included a multipart series hosted by Wolf called "Faith in the Free Church."
Recent years
Wolf took emeritus status in 1995. Under his successors, Brent Smith and the current senior minister, Marlin Lavanhar, the church's activism has continued. Lavanhar was a leading opponent of the Tulsa ZooTulsa Zoo
The Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum is a zoo and living museum located in Tulsa, Oklahoma USA. The Tulsa Zoo is owned by the city of Tulsa and is part of the Tulsa Parks Department. The zoo is located in Mohawk Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the United States...
's controversial (and short-lived) 2005 decision to include a creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
exhibit. Lavanhar presided over the 2004 memorial service for Fern Holland
Fern Holland
Fern Leona Holland was an American lawyer who was killed in the Iraq conflict that began in 2003. Holland died on March 9, 2004 while working for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.- Professional work :...
, a Tulsa lawyer and human rights activist who was the first U.S. civilian to be killed in the Iraq War. In February 2010 he travelled to Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
to speak in opposition to the proposed Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill is a legislative proposal that would broaden the criminalisation of same-sex relations by dividing homosexual behavior into two categories: "aggravated homosexuality", in which an offender would receive the death penalty, or "the offense of homosexuality" in which...
. All Souls has also been noted for its efforts to re-examine the 1921 Tulsa race riot
Tulsa Race Riot
The Tulsa race riot was a large-scale racially motivated conflict, May 31 - June 1st 1921, between the white and black communities of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in which the wealthiest African-American community in the United States, the Greenwood District also known as 'The Negro Wall St' was burned to the...
, including the controversial role of the church's co-founder and Tribune publisher Richard Lloyd Jones.
In 2008 the church absorbed the congregation of Carlton Pearson
Carlton Pearson
Carlton D'Metrius Pearson, DD is an American minister. At one time, he was the pastor of the Higher Dimensions Evangelistic Center, later named it Higher Dimensions Family Church which was one of the largest churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During the 1990s, it grew to an average attendance of over...
, a prominent evangelist, former protege of Oral Roberts, and bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Church of God in Christ
Church of God in Christ
The Church of God in Christ is a Pentecostal Holiness Christian denomination with a predominantly African-American membership. With nearly five million members in the United States and 12,000 congregations, it is the largest Pentecostal church and the fifth largest Christian church in the U.S....
, who was declared a heretic by a group of Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
bishops for preaching his "Gospel of Inclusion" that salvation is afforded to all persons including non-Christians.
The merger received attention for its efforts to combine All Souls' staid traditional Unitarian worship style with the livelier, predominantly African-American Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
style of Pearson's followers.
One historian of the UU movement has described All Souls Unitarian Church as a "prominent" example of a small group of urban UU churches that became "powerful voices of liberal religion in their communities and in the nation."
Largest Unitarian Universalist congregation
All Souls Unitarian Church has been identified as one of the largest UU congregations for many years. A second Unitarian church, Hope Unitarian Church in south Tulsa, was established in 1968, drawing off some membership; later, another small spin-off, Church of the Restoration, was started in the GreenwoodGreenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Greenwood was a district in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As one of the most successful and wealthiest African American communities in the United States during the early 20th Century, it was popularly known as America's "Black Wall Street" until the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921...
district. In the early 2000s, All Souls Unitarian dropped some inactive members from its rolls, and for a time it was supplanted in the top spot by Unitarian Church of All Souls
Unitarian Church of All Souls
The Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City was the first Unitarian Universalist church in New York City. It is one of the largest and most influential congregations in the United States...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and then by the First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin.
However, the Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association , in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of...
certified membership statistics show that as of January 28, 2011, All Souls Unitarian had 1,900 members, giving it the largest membership of any single-church UU congregation. The only larger congregations are the Church of the Larger Fellowship
Church of the Larger Fellowship
The Church of the Larger Fellowship provides a ministry to isolated Unitarian Universalists . Its mission also includes growing Unitarian Universalism by supporting small congregations and new UUs around the world...
, an outreach ministry, and the 25 combined churches of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines. According to the same statistics, All Souls Unitarian was second in average weekly attendance, behind First Unitarian Church of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.